Family Vines.

A couple of weeks ago, the women of my family got together for our annual "Girls' Day Out" event (and yes, I totally designed that amazing logo for this occasion, but my Grandma ended up picking a different one of my creations). Essentially, this is where we pile into a couple of cars, and tour around the Niagara region to as many wineries as we can muster before dinner. This usually ends in all of us spending far too much money, the trunks of our cars being a couple of inches closer to the ground, and all of us being slightly tipsy from all the delicious tastings (except our lovely designated drivers, of course).

It took me a while to come around to wine, but over the course of the last three Girl's Day Outs I've really discovered a taste for it. White wine is my home slice, red wine... well, that might take me a couple more years to learn to appreciate (I cannot understand why you would want to drink something that is DRY- beverages are meant to QUENCH your thirst!). My Grandmother is the master organizer of this entire ordeal, bless her heart, and we always wind up back at her place afterwards for a celebratory barbecue with the menfolk who got left behind with the children. What can I say? We girls get shit done.

We started at Megalomaniac, which I do strongly recommend. Their winery is built into the side of the hill, and for the tastings you get to go right into the storage room (pictured above on the left and below). For that alone, it's worth checking out! The staff there was super friendly, and everything is just top notch- quite swanky. Their wine wasn't my favourite of the day, but for anyone with a more sophisticated palate than myself, it will certainly appeal to you. Personally, I enjoy a smoother wine, with less acidity. 

And their packaging is to die for!

Another great find was Frogpond Farm, a 100% organic winery. Their grapes are organic, as well as their entire wine-making process. For anyone trying to be a friend to the environment, I cannot suggest this wine enough! It tastes phenomenal, really "clean" (go figure). No strange aftertastes, nothing unwelcome left creeping around on your tongue... just beautiful and refreshing. Not to mention, they had adorable sheep and a dog hanging out on the property. Didn't think to ask, but I'm fairly certain the sheep are there for more than just aesthetics (cheap fertilizer anyone?). 

Being the totally unorganized people that we were, we were in a rush to move onto the next place and didn't have the time- but for those of you who move at a less hurried pace, next to the main building was a self-guided tour around the property. This winery is also completely bike-friendly, and has tons of parking for anyone cruising on up.

Not a whole lot of photo-ops at Joseph's, but we make sure to hit it up every year. One reason is that everyone there is amazingly friendly and helpful, another is that their prices are to die for, but the main reason is pictured above. My hometown is Mississauga, where the absolutely wonderful Hazel McCallion presides as mayor, and has since the dawn of time. At Joseph's you will find both a white and red wine dedicated to this awesome lady (for under $20 too!). Not sure how much longer they will be making this stuff, but if you love her as much as we do, I would recommend heading over there to snag a couple of bottles for yourself. I also strongly recommend their Caroline rose (named after the owner's daughter), it's a beautiful summer pick for sitting on the patio! And, as a bonus fun fact- Joseph's was the first winery in the region to start making Ice Wine, which has become totally trendy and a highlight of the Niagara region. 

To follow the typical cliche, I saved my favourite for last (which is quite fitting, as it was the last place we squeezed in on our way home!). Organized Crime is a tiny little place off the beaten path, but is well worth going out of your way for. Their collection is just stunning, each wine having a hand drawn label which forms a story when you line them all up. One of their wine bottles (the 2008 pinot noir, pictured below) is featured in an art museum in California because, well, it's so gosh darn beautiful!

Organized Crime gets its name from a true story that happened just around the corner from their property. Back in the day, there were two rival Mennonite churches who could not see eye to eye on the beauty of music. One had an organ, and other saw that (as well as all music) as sinful and just plain terrible. So, the considerably unreasonable church got together and hatched a plan. In the middle of the night they broke into the musical church, stole the organ, put it in a buggy, and dumped it in a river. After that, they had "beautiful silence" once more.

Not only is the whole namesake of the wine pretty interesting, but the wine itself is just fantastic. Their 2008 Riesling Reserve is just about the best wine I think I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. Seriously. My mother and I killed the bottle at the barbecue afterwards because we could not get enough of it! Our plan is to attempt to collect all of the bottles someday... unfortunately that might end up taking us a good long while, as our beloved Riesling is $28, and it only goes up from there. While being a little pricey for our conservative wallet, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this wine is worth every single penny. 

Expect to see more wine adventures with me! I'm not sure if it has more to do with the fact that I am actually "growing up", or just because I just love wine glasses, but wine is something I certainly look forward to enjoying more often.

Do you have any unconventional events you do with your family every year? Or a favourite wine that I absolutely must try? Comment below!

PS: The image below is the design of my mine that my Grandmother picked for our lovely group t-shirts. Not my favourite of the lot, but totally adorable and appropriate for our motley crew.